Are there Buddhists that don't believe Tibettan Buddhists are "true Buddhists"?

Question

Well, I was thinking about Christians, and how protestants now seem to commonly insist that they are the only true christians, and how ridiculous this statement is, so something occured to me. Are Tibettan Buddhists, which believe in the reincarnation of their lamas, their book of the dead, and general different interpretations of the lack of the self (one of the noble truths), ever considered by anyone to not be true Buddhists?

Is this need to make such distinctions purely western? (certain jews do it too).

Answer 1

"True Buddhism" is any Buddhism that teaches:

1. all things are impermanent & there is no substance or concept that is permanent
2. all emotions bring pain and suffering and no emotion is purely "pleasureable"
3. all phenomena are illusory & empty
4. enlightenment is beyond concepts

Tibetan Buddhism, while it has the smells and bells of the culture, is Buddhism... only a few teachers (most now in the West) are deviating from Buddhism and still calling themselves "monks"... HOWEVER Buddhism eschews the idea of "infidels" or "blasphemers" since there is nothing to "blaspheme", nobody or anything to really be faithful to, etc. All "sects" or "schools" or "vehicles" of Buddhism ALL teach the same basic tenets, they all just differ in how they do it.

When I make the distinction that I'm Gelug Tibetan Buddhist, it's to let people know that I'm in that particular range of ideas and teachings (i.e. sutric level, lam rim, etc.)

All Buddhist schools, that I'm aware of believe in rebirth... due to the philosophy so "the reincarnation of lamas" is a given... unless maybe the Theravadans (Hinayana) don't believe in it... I'll let them speak for themselves.... _()_ ....

So BOTTOM LINE: All Buddhism, no matter what culture it is in, or comes from is Buddhism as LONG AS it follows those above 4 criteria.

Hope my babbling idiocy makes sense?

_()_

Answer 2

it's bit different than Mahayana sect and Theravada.sect
Vajrayana sect (Tibetan, Nepal, Mongolia, Butan)
has both the Mahayana and Theravada teaching but with
more Tantric teachings. Tibetan Buddhism and Vajrayana (Tantic Buddhism) is basically Mahayana but with Tibetan Culture & old faiths mixed together.

Also there are many also that go against the idea of
reincarnation (Samsara)